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Effects of cyberbullying on teenagers
Causes and effects of cyberbullying
Cyberbullying and its effects on our youth
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Dangers of Unlimited Access
“Social media websites can enrich children’s lives, but they can also be hazardous to their mental and physical health” (Hellmich). (Social media sites) “can enhance kids’ creativity and help them develop technical skills. They can also can lead to cyberbullying, depression, and exposure to inappropriate content” (Hellmich). Even if the internet can help the children of our society, parents, teachers, and principals need to look at all of the risks and decide whether kids should have unlimited access to everything that is on the internet. Social media sites can be very risky. Parents and other adults need to create rules and regulations to govern and monitor the usage of the internet. With these restrictions, cyberbullying, depression, and the misuse of these sites can be prevented.
Teens that use the internet without supervision or rules are more likely to experience cyberbullying. Along with cyberbullying, teens can also go through depression from believing in everything they read on the internet. This also includes when teens see too much on the internet and believe that what they see is always reality. Allowing teens to use the internet for social media without any restrictions can cause them to misuse the sites and inflict emotional harm to themselves or others through cyberbullying.
Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and other social sites focused on photos, allow many teens to judge and bully other teens without their parents knowing. “Parents need to know that unrestricted media use can have serious consequences. It’s been linked with violence, cyberbullying, -- and a host of other problems” (Ocala Star-Banner). Facebook is a popular social media site to go to catch up with friends but it is k...
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... and if their child is on the internet often, they are likely to have experienced cyberbullying at some time. Without parents checking to see if their child is being cyberbullied, the kid may go into depression and possibly start thinking of suicide if never helped in time. Any parent or adult can help to stop cyberbullying by checking with their kids and viewing what they post on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites.
Works Cited
"Docs to Parents: Limit Kids' Texts, Tweets, Online." Ocala Star-Banner. 28 Oct. 2013: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
Hennick, Calvin. "Pondering Facebook's School Role." Boston Globe. 27 Sep. 2012: REG.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
Hellmich, Nanci. "Social Media Websites Can Be Useful for Kids, But..." USA TODAY. 28 Mar. 2011: B.8. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
The use of social networking sites is rising at great rates. According to a report conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in 2012, ninety-five percent of individuals aged 12-17 use the internet; and eighty-one percent of those use social network sites (Pew Interest). Although it is known that social media can have a useful impact on lives, often times people forget that with a positive comes a negative. The continual use of social network sites will impact teen lives more negatively than positively because they can cause huge distractions from valuable and critical pursuits like education; they can also cause mental health issues and a reduction in communication skills.
Karrie Lager, a child psychologist practicing in Los Angeles, says. “However, excessive internet use can have serious negative consequences,” she explains in response to a survey published by CASA Columbia (Stein, 2014). Dr. Lager has a great point, she believes that the use of technology for communication is a great thing for children, but she also agrees that using it to excess can be harmful and dangerous to a child. A lot of children, as well as adults use social media as fuel to their self-esteem and their self-worth, by doing so they become addicted wanting to use it more and more to never feel less than they should. Unfortunately because of this the addictive tendencies are becoming more apparent “Social media is simply providing a quicker peeling of the onion, however in most cases the problems were already there,” Dr. Sophy says, “Many people are genetically predisposed to use excessive amounts of potentially harmful tools (sex, substances, food, social media, etc.) to self soothe. And yet there are others who learn these behaviors due to life circumstances and events” (Stein, 2014). As you look closer to the problem one can understand that there are beneficial factors to social media but they can also see that there are factors that are harmful. If children are using social media more and more there is naturally going to be
Besides cyberbullying, there are many other negative outcomes for American youth in the use of social media websites like Facebook. For example, many teens are using shorthand and abbreviations when writing or communicating online. Additionally, teens lose themselves in social media, ignore their surroundings and even become addicted to social media. Consequences of this include a rise in obesity, devaluation in family, lack of exercise and decrease in focus on school and homework. Adolescents that use social media more often than others are more prone to “narcissistic tendencies,” “anxiety, depression, and other psychological disorders” (Protalinski, 2011). American youth that share more online also display manic, aggressive and antisocial behaviors.
Taylor, Dr. Jim. "The Bad, the Ugly, and the Good of Children's Use of Social Media." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 28 May 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Children and adolescents who have anxiety, depression and low self-esteem are more likely to be unwilling to attend school and to withdraw from family and friends. The educational life of these children and adolescents will also be affected by social media. The adolescents are most likely to drop out of high school or out of college. Most of the children and adolescent are going through all of this alone, because they are withdrawing from their family and friends. They are slowly developing a fear of being rejected. The fact that these children and adolescents are going through different series of events makes it harder for them to communicate with others. All of these effects caused by social media are making children and adolescents believed they don’t fit into society. These effects can also lead a person to commit suicide, because their brain has all of these thoughts going through and children and adolescents are trying to find a way to not lose their
Adults are easily accessible to the goods and bads on social media, compared to children that are less capable to realize what is convenient for them. As a result, children have become victims of cyberbullying via social media. One of the major problem of cyberbullying had to do with the fact that “[t]he Internet provides more than ample opportunities for children to bully one another anonymously. Kids can embark on impressive and terrifying bullying campaigns, drawing in dozens of other completely anonymous children. Even a child who never does anything risky online is at risk of being bullied”, (Woda,2015, p.32). Children are expose to more cyberbullying in social media than in their normal everyday lives. According to Woda Tim, (2015) “a 2013 Pew Research Center study, indicates that 20.8 percent of kids ages eight to ten report that they have been cyberbullied at least once in their life, while 88 percent of social media-using teens say they have witnessed someone being mean or cruel on a social media site”, (32). Parents should focus more when their kids are using phones or computers in the house and it should use in public areas of the house, where parents can be aware of what their kids are doing in social media. They must use a “Parental intelligence” with their children and know that kids are the more vulnerable to be involved in cyberbullying. It is painful to see how everyday in the news kids are committing
Cyberbullying is one of the main causes of suicide and teens dropping out of school. Cyberbullying is a life threatening or even a harmful thing
Thomas J. Billitteri’s “Cyberbullying” sees social media as a cause of bullying and states out of the teenagers using social media, forty percent have a least once claimed to have been cyber bullied. Child advocates view the incivility from television reality shows to the political arena as growing to a point where youth have learned it acceptable to humiliate other people as a form of entertainment. This attitude is commonly found on commentary sections of social media and news websites. The article points out the responsibility social media sites takes in contributing to and preventing cyber-bullying. Working with individual states and law enforcement, Myspace has tried to help to stop harassment and cyber-bullying. Meanwhile, the social media website Juicy Campus was solely made to spread gossip that is hurtful (Billitteri “Cyberbullying”).
There has been controversy as to whether parents should limit the use of social media by teenagers. Teenagers feel that there is no need to limit the use of their social media networking, but on the other hand, parents should feel the need to limit their use and also keep track of their teen’s social networking. Social media allows students to be connected with their peers, teens who post positive status are more likely to be involved in extracurricular activities, and for many teens putting up “selfies” is a self confidence boost; however, too much social media can affect students GPA in school, cyber bullying can affect social health. Social media networks can give out personal information. Social media sites such as Facebook are one of the most popular social media sites that has 700,000-750,000 members joining each day.
Social media can have detrimental effects on the formation of an adolescent’s identity such as social isolation meaning that the individual will spend excessive amounts of time attached to any electronics that will provide him with social media access. Social networking has been debated to have beneficial or detrimental effects, as overuse and abuse of the Internet can be harmful to someone, such as an adolescent. According to the National Crime Prevention Council, over one million teenage girls are victimized psychologically as well as physically, through social media.
With all the new networking site it makes it easier for bullies to target their victims. Kids don’t understand when they reach a certain limit it can trigger the young kids mind to commit suicide. Bullying and suicide have a huge connection between the two. Getting bullied at school is one thing getting bullied on social media is another, there are more people that can see if they post public. Getting made fun of on social media can make the other kid sensitive and can get to them to the point where they cannot take it anymore. If kids have easy access to get online it is easy for them to find their victim, now a day kids know how to work the new websites. Among average 61% have received mean or embarrassing posts online and 59% have received mean texts, e-mails or instant messages (Anderson, Bresnahan, & Musatics, 2014). It is easier to bully on social media then is at school or anywhere else. Embarrassing pictures or even inappropriate pictures of the victim can be uploaded by the bully leading to embarrassment for everyone to see. It is much easier to be behind a screen not being face to face to attack with harsh word, or whatever it is to embarrass the kid. Being behind a screen doesn’t like kids socialize, which is what is wrong with the society
Mickie Wong-Lo and Lyndal M. Bullock, in their encouraging attempt to intervene in incidents of cyberbullying, have recommended many ways to deal with it. In their article entitled “Digital Aggression: Cyberworld Meets School Bullies”, they asserted that children do not acquaint their parents with their activities on the Internet and as a result parents do not know how to address similar situations (67). According to Kowalski, parents ought to follow “reporting techniques, which includes knowing when to ignore, block, or react, being mindful of the language being used and respond appropriately;” (qtd. in Wong-Lo and Bullock 68). In other words, the authors rightly emphasize that systematic supervision and knowledge can be valuable measures because parents will monitor children’s use of Internet and will be able to provide appropriate guidelines just in case a danger arises (Wong-Lo and Bullock 68). Moreover, as Keith and Martin argue, “[…] incorporating popular youth technology would be to teach youth how to use a social networking site to promote themselves in a positive manner that would appeal ...
According to the article, “10 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Problems,” Degreed claim that social media make us restless by “two-thirds admitted to having difficulty relaxing when unable to use their social media accounts.” Teenagers are always tired when they have to stay up late at night to catch up with all the news feed on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter that make them have no energy to go on the next day. Based on the newspaper, “Excessive Social Media Use Harms Children’s Mental Health,” by the Telegraph shows that “children who go on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more than three hours a day are more likely to have mental health problems.” Social media can lead to bullying that affects teenagers mental health issue and being stressed. Social media have now taken a part of human life and some are addicted to the point where they can’t even live without
Adults are more capable enough to know what is good and bad on social media, comparing with children that are less capable to realize what is convenient for them. As a result of that many children are being victims of cyberbullying on social media. One of the major problem of cyberbullying had to do with the fact that “The Internet provides more than ample opportunities for children to bully one another anonymously. Kids can embark on impressive and terrifying bullying campaigns, drawing in dozens of other completely anonymous children. Even a child who never does anything risky online is at risk of being bullied”, (Woda,2015, p.32). Children are expose to more cyberbullying in social media than in their normal lives. According to Woda Tim, (2015) “a 2013 Pew Research Center study, indicates that 20.8% of kids ages eight to 10 report that they have been cyberbullied at least once in their life, while 88% of social media-using teens say they have witnessed someone being mean or cruel on a social media site”, (32). Parents should focus more when their kids are using phones or computers in the house and it should use in public areas of the house, where parents can be aware of what their kids are doing in social media. They must use a “Parental intelligence” with their children and know that kids are the more vulnerable to be involved in cyberbullying. It is painful to see how everyday in the news Many kids are killing
Paulson, Amanda. “Schools weigh risk, benefit of Facebook.” Christian Science Monitor 27 Sept. 2011: 3: N.PAG. Academic Search Premier. Web. 05 May 2014.